European Parliament 2019-2024

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

2020/2039(INI)

16.10.2020

AMENDMENTS 1 - 74

Draft opinion Mazaly Aguilar (PE657.414v01-00)

Reversing demographic trends in EU regions using cohesion policy instruments (2020/2039(INI))

AM\1215651EN.docx PE658.985v01-00

EN United in diversityEN AM_Com_NonLegOpinion

PE658.985v01-00 2/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Amendment 1 Tonino Picula, Paolo De Castro, Attila Ara-Kovács, Juozas Olekas, Carmen Avram, Ivo Hristov, Pina Picierno, Miroslav Číž

Draft opinion Citation 1 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

- having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 14 November 2017 on the deployment of cohesion policy instruments by regions to address demographic change,

Or. en

Amendment 2 Ivo Hristov

Draft opinion Recital A

Draft opinion Amendment

A. whereas Europe’s regions currently A. whereas Europe’s regions currently face far-reaching demographic changes face far-reaching demographic changes such as a low birth rate, an ageing such as a low birth rate, a high mortality population and an ongoing rural exodus; rate, an ageing population and an ongoing rural exodus;

Or. bg

Amendment 3 Ivo Hristov

Draft opinion Recital A a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

Aa. whereas rural and disadvantaged regions are often unable to acquire the same economic indicators for a given time period as other regions, which in some cases appears to pose problems when it

AM\1215651EN.docx 3/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN comes to applying for support;

Or. bg

Amendment 4 Cristian Ghinea, Irène Tolleret, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Atidzhe Alieva-Veli, Ulrike Müller, Martin Hlaváček

Draft opinion Recital A a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

A a. whereas agricultural workers inrural areas, particularly those living in remote areas, suffering from demographic disadvantages, face anexceptional higher risk of poverty and social exclusion;

Or. en

Amendment 5 Cristian Ghinea, Irène Tolleret, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Atidzhe Alieva-Veli, Ulrike Müller, Martin Hlaváček

Draft opinion Recital A b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

A b. whereas rural areas that are faced with depopulation may experience land abandonment and increased risk of forest fires and face difficulties in their economic recovery 1a; ______1a Forest fires — Sparking fire smart policies in the EU, European Commission (2018).

Or. en

Amendment 6

PE658.985v01-00 4/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Recital B

Draft opinion Amendment

B. whereas, in the light of the B. whereas, in the light of the pandemic, policies and instruments pandemic, policies and instruments addressing demographic problems must be addressing demographic problems must be reviewed; reviewed; whereas birthrate policies in Europe must be encouraged;

Or. fr

Amendment 7 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Recital B

Draft opinion Amendment

B. whereas, in the light of the B. whereas, in the light of the pandemic, policies and instruments pandemic, policies and instruments addressing demographic problems must be addressing demographic problems must be reviewed; reviewed, especially in the more sparsely populated and vulnerable areas of the Union;

Or. es

Amendment 8 Ivo Hristov

Draft opinion Recital Б

Draft opinion Amendment

B. whereas, in the light of the B. whereas, in addition to already- pandemic, policies and instruments established issues and trends, the addressing demographic problems must be pandemic has also shown that policies and reviewed; instruments addressing demographic problems must be reviewed;

AM\1215651EN.docx 5/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Or. bg

Amendment 9 Emmanouil Fragkos

Draft opinion Recital Β

Draft opinion Amendment

B. whereas, in the light of the B. whereas, in the light of the pandemic, policies and instruments pandemic, policies and instruments addressing demographic problems must focusing primarily on low birth rates and be reviewed; the rural exodus must be reviewed;

Or. el

Amendment 10 Tonino Picula, Paolo De Castro, Attila Ara-Kovács, Juozas Olekas, Carmen Avram, Ivo Hristov, Pina Picierno, Miroslav Číž

Draft opinion Recital B a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

B a. whereas the demographic changes and depopulation issues are severely burdening rural, peripheral, sparsely populated areas and islands, as well as impacting the challenge of ageing, generational renewal and agriculture development;

Or. en

Amendment 11 Cristian Ghinea, Irène Tolleret, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Atidzhe Alieva-Veli, Ulrike Müller, Elsi Katainen, Martin Hlaváček

Draft opinion Recital B a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

PE658.985v01-00 6/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN B a. whereas, EU Cohesion Policy makes a key contribution to delivering Digital Single Market objectives on the ground, in particular through significant financial allocations from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF);

Or. en

Amendment 12 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Recital B a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

Ba. whereas rural areas make up 44% of the Union's surface area;

Or. es

Amendment 13 Tonino Picula, Paolo De Castro, Attila Ara-Kovács, Juozas Olekas, Carmen Avram, Ivo Hristov, Pina Picierno, Miroslav Číž

Draft opinion Recital B b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

B b. whereas one of the main issues affecting rural economies is the declining share of agriculture; whereas data has shown that only 10,7% of EU farmers are below 40 years old and the farming population is ageing, which will have an impact on the agricultural sector;

Or. en

Amendment 14 Mazaly Aguilar

AM\1215651EN.docx 7/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Draft opinion Recital B b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

Bb. whereas the needs of rural areas in the face of demographic change must be met in a more coordinated and effective manner;

Or. es

Amendment 15 Emmanouil Fragkos

Draft opinion Paragraph 1

Draft opinion Amendment

1. Points out that the COVID-19 1. Points out that the COVID-19 pandemic must prompt us to rethink pandemic must prompt us to rethink policies designed to tackle demographic policies designed to tackle demographic problems and create new opportunities for problems and create new opportunities for economic and social development in rural economic and social development and areas; forward-looking investment in rural areas;

Or. el

Amendment 16 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 1

Draft opinion Amendment

1. Points out that the COVID-19 1. Points out that the COVID-19 pandemic must prompt us to rethink pandemic may serve to prompt us to policies designed to tackle demographic rethink birthrate policies designed to problems and create new opportunities for tackle demographic problems and create economic and social development in rural new opportunities for economic and social areas; development in rural areas;

Or. fr

PE658.985v01-00 8/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Amendment 17 Emmanouil Fragkos

Draft opinion Paragraph 1

Draft opinion Amendment

1. Points out that the COVID-19 1. Notes the gravity of the pandemic must prompt us to rethink demographic problem and its social and policies designed to tackle demographic economic implications and accordingly problems and create new opportunities for considers it necessary to create new economic and social development in rural opportunities for economic and social areas; development in rural areas;

Or. el

Amendment 18 Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

1 a. Emphasizes that inequalities in access to land, CAP direct payments and support, both between and within EU countries, are among the issues that need to be addressed in order to halt regional decline, allow older people to retire from agriculture and encourage young people to start farming;

Or. en

Amendment 19 Francisco Guerreiro

Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

AM\1215651EN.docx 9/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN 1 a. Expects the deploiment of new cohesion social programs such as basic income pilot projects in rural areas;

Or. en

Amendment 20 Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

1 b. Draws attention to the importance of ensuring the availability ofservices in the regions, as their decline is encouraging older people to retireearlier and move to cities where these services are easily accessible;

Or. en

Amendment 21 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural areas is not only having serious economic and social having serious economic and social consequences but also hampering our consequences at local level but also chances of achieving the Green Deal’s hampering the management and upkeep of ambitious objectives; rural areas; recalls that the depopulation of rural areas is linked to the need to develop a more attractive economy and agriculture for young people;

Or. fr

Amendment 22

PE658.985v01-00 10/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Daniel Buda

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural areas is not only having serious economic and social having serious economic and social consequences but also hampering our consequences but also hampering our chances of achieving the Green Deal’s chances of achieving the Green Deal’s ambitious objectives; ambitious objectives; insists that the investments covered by the Green Deal should take the demographic factor into account;

Or. ro

Amendment 23 Ivo Hristov

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural areas is not only having serious economic and social having serious economic and social consequences but also hampering our consequences but also hampering our chances of achieving the Green Deal’s chances of achieving the Green Deal’s ambitious objectives; ambitious objectives and those of other EU policies such as the common agricultural policy, cohesion policy, etc.;

Or. bg

Amendment 24 Cristian Ghinea, Irène Tolleret, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Atidzhe Alieva-Veli, Ulrike Müller, Martin Hlaváček

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

AM\1215651EN.docx 11/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural areas, which leads to having serious economic and social difficulties in accessing public services or consequences but also hampering our inadequate health coverage, is not only chances of achieving the Green Deal’s having serious economic and social ambitious objectives; consequences but also hampering our chances of achieving the Green Deal’s ambitious objectives;

Or. en

Amendment 25 Emmanouil Fragkos

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural areas is not only having serious economic and social having serious economic and social consequences but also hampering our consequences but also hampering our chances of achieving the Green Deal’s chances of achieving the Green Deal’s ambitious objectives; ambitious but frequently recessionary objectives;

Or. el

Amendment 26 Emmanouil Fragkos

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural and island areas is having serious economic and social not only having serious economic and consequences but also hampering our social consequences but also hampering chances of achieving the Green Deal’s our chances of achieving the Green Deal’s ambitious objectives; ambitious objectives;

PE658.985v01-00 12/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Or. el

Amendment 27 Emmanouil Fragkos

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural areas is not only having serious economic and social having serious economic and social consequences but also hampering our consequences but also undermining chances of achieving the Green Deal’s cohesion and hampering our chances of ambitious objectives; achieving the Green Deal’s ambitious objectives;

Or. el

Amendment 28 Tonino Picula, Paolo De Castro, Attila Ara-Kovács, Juozas Olekas, Carmen Avram, Ivo Hristov, Pina Picierno, Miroslav Číž

Draft opinion Paragraph 2

Draft opinion Amendment

2. Stresses that the ongoing 2. Stresses that the ongoing depopulation of rural areas is not only depopulation of rural areas is not only having serious economic and social having serious economic and social consequences but also hampering our consequences but also creating challenges chances of achieving the Green Deal’s in achieving the Green Deal’s ambitious ambitious objectives; objectives;

Or. en

Amendment 29 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

AM\1215651EN.docx 13/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in developing the Farm to Fork and developing the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Biodiversity strategies, to take practical steps to maintain the rural population; steps to maintain the rural population and support the local economy; calls on the Commission to harness both strategies to improve the way in which the agricultural sector and rural areas are perceived, bearing in mind that lack of knowledge about agriculture is responsible for a number of misconceptions regarding the work done by farmers and their contribution to the environment;

Or. es

Amendment 30 Marlene Mortler, Peter Jahr, Norbert Lins, Christine Schneider

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in developing the Farm to Fork and developing the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Biodiversity strategies, to take practical steps to maintain the rural population; steps to maintain the rural population in order to safeguard existing jobs and create new jobs and also to attract skilled workers, especially in structurally weaker regions;

Or. de

Amendment 31 Anne Sander

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in

PE658.985v01-00 14/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN developing the Farm to Fork and developing the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Biodiversity strategies, to take practical steps to maintain the rural population; steps to maintain the rural population in particular through the revaluation of agricultural activities in our regions;

Or. fr

Amendment 32 Cristian Ghinea, Irène Tolleret, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Atidzhe Alieva-Veli, Ulrike Müller, Elsi Katainen, Martin Hlaváček

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in developing the Farm to Fork and developing the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Biodiversity strategies, to take practical steps to maintain the rural population; steps to maintain the rural population, to develop local economies that would create job opportunities;

Or. en

Amendment 33 Emmanouil Fragkos

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in developing the Farm to Fork and developing the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Biodiversity strategies, to cooperate with steps to maintain the rural population; the Member States and the regional and local authorities to provide real incentives to maintain the rural population;

Or. el

Amendment 34

AM\1215651EN.docx 15/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Daniel Buda

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in developing the Farm to Fork and developing the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Biodiversity strategies, to take practical steps to maintain the rural population; steps to develop short supply chains and help to maintain the rural population;

Or. ro

Amendment 35 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in developing the Farm to Fork and developing the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Biodiversity strategies, to take practical steps to maintain the rural population; steps to encourage European populations to return to rural areas;

Or. fr

Amendment 36 Ivo Hristov

Draft opinion Paragraph 3

Draft opinion Amendment

3. Urges the Commission, in 3. Urges the Commission, in developing the Farm to Fork and developing the political guidelines for the Biodiversity strategies, to take practical Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, to steps to maintain the rural population; take practical steps to retain the rural population;

Or. bg

PE658.985v01-00 16/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Amendment 37 Francisco Guerreiro

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3 a. Recognizes, in line with the European Parliament position, resolution of 16 January 2014 on EU citizenship for sale (2013/2995(RSP), and the Commission assessment on the risks of selling European citizenship by member- states, that Golden Visa schemes are detrimental to rural areas and to long term investments in the countryside;

Or. en

Amendment 38 Tonino Picula, Paolo De Castro, Attila Ara-Kovács, Juozas Olekas, Carmen Avram, Ivo Hristov, Pina Picierno, Miroslav Číž

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3 a. Calls the Commission to ensure that priority is given to creating opportunities for the labour market, supporting energy transition and developing transport and broadband infrastructure, in order to address structural challenges that are the main causes for migration from rural areas;

Or. en

Amendment 39 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion

AM\1215651EN.docx 17/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Paragraph 3 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the future publication setting out its long-term vision for rural areas includes a detailed analysis of the role of agriculture, livestock farming and forestry as mainstays of the rural economy;

Or. es

Amendment 40 Marlene Mortler, Peter Jahr, Norbert Lins, Christine Schneider

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the positive impact and successful results of cohesion policy in the EU be better communicated and publicised;

Or. de

Amendment 41 Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3 a. Underlines the potential of sustainable agriculture in terms of creatingdecent and long-term jobs in rural areas;

Or. en

PE658.985v01-00 18/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Amendment 42 Tonino Picula, Paolo De Castro, Attila Ara-Kovács, Juozas Olekas, Carmen Avram, Ivo Hristov, Pina Picierno, Miroslav Číž

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3 b. Stresses the need to foster and develop projects to promote the return of young people to rural areas by supporting youth employment, digital connectivity and entrepreneurship using best practices from member states;

Or. en

Amendment 43 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3b. Recognises that the policies most effectively addressing demographic challenges are those seeking long-term objectives and resulting from consultation with local stakeholders and civil society organisations;

Or. es

Amendment 44 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 c (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3c. Points out that, notwithstanding the Commission's repeated assertions, we still lack a long-term strategy to enable

AM\1215651EN.docx 19/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN rural areas to face demographic challenges, the threat of poverty and limited access to services;

Or. es

Amendment 45 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 d (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3d. Urges the Commission to factor in demographic considerations as an integral part of all cohesion policy instruments; stresses the importance of coordinating any Union initiatives with strategies adopted by the Member States in response to the demographic challenge;

Or. es

Amendment 46 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 e (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3e. Underlines the fundamental role of the CAP in maintaining and creating employment in the rural and agricultural sector but recognises its limitations; urges therefore that cohesion policy resources and the new Union recovery fund be harnessed more effectively to meet the needs of rural areas, consolidating efforts in this area and seeking new forms of cooperation;

Or. es

PE658.985v01-00 20/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Amendment 47 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 f (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3f. Considers that the new CAP strategies should be flexible and include instruments specifically designed to support digitisation, rural mobility and the development of smart towns;

Or. es

Amendment 48 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 g (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3g. Points out that cohesion policy must focus more decisively on innovation in rural areas; CAP resources must be deployed as part of a concerted effort to help family farms benefit from innovation and new technologies;

Or. es

Amendment 49 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 h (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3h. Recognises the great potential of the circular economy and bioeconomy to achieve a more efficient agri-food sector; calls for regulatory provisions that take into account the specific needs of

AM\1215651EN.docx 21/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN agriculture if it is to generate fresh opportunities in rural areas, cutting down on bureaucracy and promoting digitisation;

Or. es

Amendment 50 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 i (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3i. Stresses that measures to ensure the economic profitability of agriculture are essential to the success of demographic policies designed to inject fresh life into rural communities and make them attractive to new generations;

Or. es

Amendment 51 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 j (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3j. Calls for more ambitious measures at political level to promote generational replacement in this sector through substantial changes regarding conditions of access to land and credit; seeks comprehensive Union support for young farmers through the adoption of policies over and above a CAP that is being required to address more objectives with less funding;

Or. es

PE658.985v01-00 22/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Amendment 52 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 k (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3k. Considers that, in order to encourage the more effective integration of young farmers and newcomers to agricultural activity, it is imperative to facilitate the transfer of holdings by cutting down on bureaucracy and ensure decent terms for farmers taking retirement;

Or. es

Amendment 53 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 l (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3l.. Recognises the key role of women in agriculture; calls for measures to be taken rural areas to make it easier for women of all generations to remain in their immediate environment, contributing its revival and further development;

Or. es

Amendment 54 Mazaly Aguilar

Draft opinion Paragraph 3 m (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

3m. Supports initiatives to improve the

AM\1215651EN.docx 23/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN quality of rural employment through diversification and innovation; observes that this objective should be given priority under the numerous Green Pact strategies and action plans and pursued in a coordinated manner with the Member States;

Or. es

Amendment 55 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 4

Draft opinion Amendment

4. Supports innovation and 4. Supports innovation and digitisation with a view to promoting a digitisation with a view to promoting a vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls vibrant, dynamic and economically viable on the Commission to draw on the smart rural environment; calls on the cities and towns initiatives to develop a Commission to draw on the smart cities new instrument to support start-ups in and towns initiatives to develop a new rural areas, thereby also boosting their instrument to support undertakings in economic and productive fabric; continental and outermost rural areas, thereby also boosting their economic and productive fabric; recalls that the outermost regions must also benefit from a major public health plan in order to ensure that every citizen in these regions, particularly in rural areas, has access to drinking water.

Or. fr

Amendment 56 Daniel Buda

Draft opinion Paragraph 4

Draft opinion Amendment

4. Supports innovation and 4. Supports innovation and digitisation with a view to promoting a digitisation with a view to promoting a

PE658.985v01-00 24/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls on the Commission to draw on the smart on the Commission to draw on the smart cities and towns initiatives to develop a cities and towns initiatives to develop a new instrument to support start-ups in rural new instrument to support start-ups in rural areas, thereby also boosting their economic areas, thereby also boosting their economic and productive fabric; and productive fabric; emphasises that the Local Action Groups have made a significant contribution to strengthening interactions between economic sectors in rural areas and have helped considerably in the implementation of rural development policies;

Or. ro

Amendment 57 Cristian Ghinea, Irène Tolleret, Atidzhe Alieva-Veli, Ulrike Müller, Martin Hlaváček

Draft opinion Paragraph 4

Draft opinion Amendment

4. Supports innovation and 4. Supports innovation and digitisation with a view to promoting a digitisation with a view to promoting a vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls on the Commission to draw on the smart on the Commission to draw on the smart cities and towns initiatives to develop a cities and towns initiatives to develop a new instrument to support start-ups in rural new instrument to support start-ups in rural areas, thereby also boosting their economic areas, thereby also boosting their economic and productive fabric; and productive fabric, in order to pave the way a digital economy in rural areas; Calls on the Commission to support the financing of renewable resources as part of the Green deal/ Bioeconomy which can generate jobs and can help with the economic renewal of many rural areas2a; ______2a Bioeconomy : investments in wool,which is a quintessentially natural fiber, resistant and durable can create new opportunities and reduce pollution by reducing the use of plastic, and bring innovative solutions for eco farming and keeping water and carbon into soils . The wool processing industry was delocalised from Europe.

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Amendment 58 Ivo Hristov

Draft opinion Paragraph 4

Draft opinion Amendment

4. Supports innovation and 4. Supports innovation and digitisation with a view to promoting a digitisation with a view to promoting a vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls on the Commission to draw on the smart on the Member States to consider cities and towns initiatives to develop a introducing computer skills training new instrument to support start-ups in rural modules for regions where these skills are areas, thereby also boosting their economic not of a sufficiently high level; calls on and productive fabric; the Commission to draw on the smart cities and towns initiatives to develop a new instrument to support start-ups in rural areas, thereby also boosting their economic and productive fabric;

Or. bg

Amendment 59 Anne Sander

Draft opinion Paragraph 4

Draft opinion Amendment

4. Supports innovation and 4. Supports innovation and digitisation with a view to promoting a digitisation with a view to promoting a vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls on the Commission to draw on the smart on the Commission to draw on the smart cities and towns initiatives to develop a cities and towns initiatives to develop a new instrument to support start-ups in rural new instrument to support start-ups in rural areas, thereby also boosting their economic areas, thereby also boosting their socio- and productive fabric; economic and productive fabric;

Or. fr

PE658.985v01-00 26/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Amendment 60 Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 4

Draft opinion Amendment

4. Supports innovation and 4. Supports innovation with a view to digitisation with a view to promoting a promoting a vibrant, dynamic rural vibrant, dynamic rural environment; calls environment; calls on the Commission to on the Commission to draw on the smart draw on the smart cities and towns cities and towns initiatives to develop a initiatives to develop a new instrument to new instrument to support start-ups in rural support start-ups in rural areas, thereby areas, thereby also boosting their economic also boosting their economic and and productive fabric; productive fabric;

Or. en

Amendment 61 Ivo Hristov

Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

4a. Calls on the relevant authorities at national, regional and local level to consider introducing educational modules as part of compulsory education aimed at forging and/or strengthening the link between students in urban areas on the one hand and activities and ways of life in non-urbanised areas on the other, so as to increase knowledge of, and the link between, future generations and rural areas;

Or. bg

Amendment 62 Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new)

AM\1215651EN.docx 27/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Draft opinion Amendment

4 a. Highlights that the development of short supply chains and regional food markets could play a central role in providing economic opportunities for rural population in agricultural production, agro-processing and retailing. Investment in this area should become a priority for EAFRD;

Or. en

Amendment 63 Marlene Mortler, Peter Jahr, Norbert Lins, Christine Schneider

Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

4a. Stresses that promoting mobility and networking opportunities, as well as supporting innovative measures by SMEs and skilled crafts and trades, are seen as key success factors for rural areas;

Or. de

Amendment 64 Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

4 b. Highlights the central role played by Community Led Local Development initiatives in keeping and restoring living and thriving local rural economies, and the need to keep a sufficient level of funding for LEADER; Calls on the Member states to make full use of LEADER's capacities;

PE658.985v01-00 28/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Or. en

Amendment 65 Marlene Mortler, Peter Jahr, Norbert Lins, Christine Schneider

Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

4b. Calls for the administrative burden on businesses and administrations to be reduced, with fewer requirements and greater legal certainty, thus improving the framework conditions for successful funding on the ground and reducing barriers to investment;

Or. de

Amendment 66 Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

4 c. Notes that an effective mobility system is one of the prerequisites for regional economic development, territorial cohesion and the development of regional potential. It is therefore necessary to provide the necessary funding for the development and maintenance of transport links, which could encourage the older generation to stay in rural areas for longer and attract young people from urban centers to work in the countryside;

Or. en

Amendment 67

AM\1215651EN.docx 29/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Benoît Biteau

Draft opinion Paragraph 4 d (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

4 d. Calls on Member States to facilitate buying and leasing of farmland byyoung farmers; In this view, calls for farmland to be given special protection with a view to allowing the Member States, in coordination with local authorities and farmers' organisations, to regulate the sale, use and lease of agricultural land;

Or. en

Amendment 68 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 5

Draft opinion Amendment

5. Deplores the fact that the agreement 5. Deplores the fact that once again on the multiannual financial framework is the agreement on the multiannual financial not ambitious enough to meet the framework is not ambitious enough to meet challenges of demographic change; the challenges of demographic involution; criticises the cuts to the EU’s two main criticises the cuts to the EU’s two main instruments designed to promote instruments designed to promote sustainable development in rural areas: sustainable development in rural areas on cohesion policy and the CAP. the continent and in the outermost regions: cohesion policy and the CAP.

Or. fr

Amendment 69 Tonino Picula, Paolo De Castro, Attila Ara-Kovács, Juozas Olekas, Carmen Avram, Ivo Hristov, Pina Picierno, Miroslav Číž

Draft opinion Paragraph 5

PE658.985v01-00 30/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Draft opinion Amendment

5. Deplores the fact that the agreement 5. Deplores the fact that the agreement on the multiannual financial framework is on the multiannual financial framework is not ambitious enough to meet the not ambitious enough to meet the challenges of demographic change; challenges of demographic change; regrets criticises the cuts to the EU’s two main the cuts to the EU’s two main instruments instruments designed to promote designed to promote sustainable sustainable development in rural areas: development in rural areas: cohesion policy cohesion policy and the CAP. and the CAP.

Or. en

Amendment 70 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 5 – point 1 (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

(1) Regrets that the outermost regions are the first to be affected by cuts in funding for programmes such as POSEI;

Or. fr

Amendment 71 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 5 – point 2 (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

(2) Regrets that the outermost regions suffer from their insularity, geographical remoteness and lack of perspective for their young people, whereas Article 349 TFEU should enable them to address this issue;

Or. fr

AM\1215651EN.docx 31/33 PE658.985v01-00 EN Amendment 72 Maxette Pirbakas

Draft opinion Paragraph 5 – point 3 (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

(3) Calls for a major plan to facilitate transfers for all undertakings in order to allow young people to gain access to employment and the resumption of economic activity and to provide an adequate pension for departing workers; such measures would render the rural economy more attractive, starting with agriculture, and would benefit the outermost regions and rural areas in Europe;

Or. fr

Amendment 73 Daniel Buda

Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

5a. Stresses that REACT-EU provides resources to support the recovery of the sectors most affected by the pandemic crisis and introduces measures to create jobs and investment for SMEs; emphasises that Member States will have the possibility to choose funding priorities and hence insists on the need for investment to be made in areas at risk of depopulation.

Or. ro

Amendment 74 Benoît Biteau

PE658.985v01-00 32/33 AM\1215651EN.docx EN Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new)

Draft opinion Amendment

5 a. Regrets the continuing imbalance between EAGF and EAFRD in the CAP. The basic income support representing the majority of the EAGF having a negative influence on rural populations as opposed to the EAFRD which supports rural development.

Or. en

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